Take Me Away
by Young Republican
Summary: Part 1/3. Meredith and Derek are so over...and Meredith is having trouble coping. So she does what anybody who has too much to drink will do, she hooks up with the wrong person. And the repercussions extend far beyond the one night stand.
1. Chapter 1

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Take Me Away

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Grey's Anatomy, I simply worship Shonda Rhimes in a Godlike fashion and thus I'm borrowing her characters for my sick enjoyment…ok, it's not really sick. But you get the point; I don't make any money from this and blah blah blah.

Authors Notes: This story is set after S4E10. It takes place in the wake of the Derek/Nurse Rose kissing debacle and after Meredith and Derek decide they are so over. In my world, Shonda is no longer around and so I've been asked to write every future episode of GA; thus, George left Callie, hooked up with Izzie, and they haven't had any problems since. Everybody else is as messed up as Shonda and Betsey made them. Please review!

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_Take me away; a secret place_

_A sweet escape; take me away_

_Take me away; to better days_

_Take me away; a higher place_

It was all Meredith could think about, getting away from Derek and Seattle Grace and her dead mother. For some reason, whenever shit hit the fan in Meredith's life she always thought about her mother. Mommy dearest had been dead for some time now, and yet when Meredith got stressed the only thing she could focus on was her dead mommy. Point is, leaving everything behind was what Meredith was currently thinking about. The problem with her desire to leave was…everything. To start with, she couldn't leave the resident program at Seattle Grace because every other hospital's resident program sucked. Also, Cristina was in denial about her issues with being left at the altar by Burke, and somebody had to make sure she didn't drink too much tequila and sleep with inappropriate men. But mostly, Meredith couldn't leave because she didn't know where to go.

Finally, after too much thinking and alone time, Meredith finally decided where to go. Thus, it was at Joe's that Meredith was currently enjoying too much tequila and prattling on about her current issues to Cristina.

"Ok, for the record, the tequila and inappropriate men is your thing." Cristina stated. "And secondly, I don't have any issues about Burke leaving. We are so freaking over that, it's a non-issue."

Meredith nodded her head in a drunken fashion. "You're right; tequila is what got me into this mess."

"Exactly, so maybe you want to think about calling it a night?"

Meredith looked at Cristina, well actually Cristinas plural as there seemed to be two of her, and ignored the last comment. She lay her head down on the table and groaned, thinking about her life. It wasn't supposed to be this hard. She was supposed to go to medical school, do her residency some place great on the other coast, and live the rest of her life performing amazing medical procedures and discovering new ways to save lives. Instead she was in Seattle because her mother had Alzheimer's and there was nobody else to take care of her. So Meredith had moved back into her mother's house and started her internship by sleeping with the attending neurosurgeon. Of course, finding out about his wife put a damper on things for awhile, and in between all that was a lot of tequila and inappropriate sex with boys ranging from George to the guy who's penis wouldn't go…soft. Of course, after the potholes had mended Derek and Meredith seemed to resume their relationship and annoy those around them with the sheer intensity of their happiness. But like everything in Meredith's life, things eventually went back to their original state of sucking. Her mother was admitted to Seattle Grace for a heart murmur and while lucid informed Meredith that she was nothing more than ordinary. So Meredith decided to drown herself in a bathtub but Derek, being her night in shining whatever, intervened and she lived. But she got a second chance at escaping when, at the scene of a mass casualty incident, she was knocked into the frigid water and seemed to forget how to swim. Being clinically dead for an unimaginable amount of time had its advantages though. While in limbo she had many interesting conversations with various people including Denny, the bomb guy, Nurse Fallon, and Bonnie; the most important person being her mother who, at the same time as Meredith, was dying. Her near-drowning and death of her mother obviously made an impact not only on Meredith but Derek as well. She knew how to swim but she didn't, Derek realized, and thus also realized that he couldn't keep saving her. Being in love, though, made it difficult as he couldn't leave her yet she seemed to always be leaving him. Things went from sucking to pure hell after her new relationship with her fake-mommy came to a tragic end. Who the hell thought that a case of hiccups would lead to septic shock and death? And with an alcoholic father blaming her for the death of his wife was it any surprise that Meredith found her life to be overwhelming? So when Burke decided to leave Cristina on their wedding day, Meredith decided that not only was that over, everything else was so over. And so she started her second year of residency without Derek, without a real and fake mommy, and with a new step-sister that couldn't take a hint. And that's just the short summary…

"I need to go." She finally said to Cristina.

"That's a good idea. Give me you're keys and I'll drive you."

"No, I mean I need to go somewhere else. I need to be away."

"No." Cristina stated matter-of-factly. "Leaving is not an option. So what if Derek is dating some skanky nurse? It's not going to last. But you know what? Even if it does, you do not get to leave. Because leaving is not an option for you, it's an option for quitters. Meredith Grey is not a quitter."

Meredith nodded again. "That was a great pep-talk coach. But you're right."

And so Cristina drove Meredith home, tucked her in bed, and then lay down next to her. While Meredith fell asleep and began to snore rather loudly Cristina lay there thinking that the skanky nurse thing had to pass because she wasn't sure how much more her friend could take.

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Izzie Stevens wasn't sure of many things, but she was fairly confident that she got the crappy interns. They were slow, they were lazy, and overall they just sucked. Why couldn't her interns respect her the way Cristina's interns feared and respected their boss? Oh yeah, maybe it had something to do with the deer she had refused to let die and instead used valuable resources and time to save. Whatever the case was, she desperately wanted new interns.

Since a new set of interns was out of the question she settled for spending the morning hooking up with George in an on-call room. If only everybody could start their mornings off with sex, she thought, then the world would be a happier place.

"So the divorce is final." George said, breaking the after-sex silence and bringing Izzie back to reality. "Yea, so it's a little weird. I feel kind of like Britney Spears."

"Seriously, didn't her marriage last like fifty-five hours?"

"Seriously, you actually know that?"

"Whatever." Izzie said as she sat up and began getting dressed. "You get the point. And besides, your dad died and you were in shock and denial. Britney got married to see what it was like to be married. You got married because you were an emotional wreck."

George looked at her and frowned. He was about to say something when he realized that she was right. A second later Izzie's pager went off and she groaned when she looked at it.

"I hate interns. They don't know how to do anything." She complained.

George, unsure of what to say, let the comment roll off his back. He wasn't going to blame anybody for failing his intern exam and having to repeat his first year, it was all on him.

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Meredith felt like crap, and that was the polite way of saying it. Hangovers sucked, her life sucked, the weather sucked, everything sucked. Getting out of bed and going to work didn't seem like something she would enjoy today but that was the problem with being a doctor. Unlike a job at McDonalds or Wal-Mart, there weren't too many people who could do her job and be called in to cover for her. And then she remembered her person who lay next to her in bed and tried to recall if she had to work today or not.

As if reading her mind Cristina, not even bothering to open her eyes, told her in no uncertain terms that Meredith best get her ass out of bed, hose herself off, and get to work.

"Nazi." Meredith said as she slowly dragged herself out of bed and to the bathroom.

"Damn right." Cristina called and then rolled over.

Half-an-hour later Meredith, equipped with coffee and Tylenol, was on her way to work. She tried not to think about having to see Derek and his little skank/girlfriend. Screw it, she thought, I'm not going to worry about it; I have a job to do and interns to boss and Derek is not an issue anymore. She decided the best course of action would be to channel Cristina post-wedding and assured herself that she was fine.

The day went along smoothly, the pit was overcrowded and the clinic was in need of constant help. Her interns stayed busy and didn't bother her and for the most part she managed to hide in the clinic.

After finishing up with a patient who had a sinus infection, she leaned against the desk and completed her paperwork. She looked up in time to see two young girls enter the clinic.

"Hi, can I help you?" She asked

"Um, this is free, right?" One of the girls, approximately eleven years old, asked.

"It is."

"That's good." The same girl replied. "We need to get tested for STDs."

The second girl looked up at Meredith with empty eyes. "We might have AIDS."

Meredith closed her eyes, trying to hide the shock she was feeling. She resisted the urge to ask exactly how old these girls were and realized that her McDreamy issue paled in comparison to having to test these young girls for AIDS. Once again all Meredith could think about was not wanting to be here.

_Take me away; a secret place_

_A sweet escape; take me away_

_Take me away; to better days_

_Take me away; a higher place_

Lyrics: "Pocketful of Sunshine" - Natasha Bedingfield


	2. Chapter 2

**Take Me Away**

Disclaimer: Same disclaimer as before, Shonda owns everything and I got nothing. Just borrowing these for fun.

Authors Notes: So this is the second chapter, hopefully you liked the first. I really enjoy reviews that are positive but at the same time helpful, so feel free to leave some! I know the story just started but I hope you're enjoying it so far! Thanks for all the great reviews so far.

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_I bet you think I'm kidding_

_But I promise you it's true_

_I hate most everybody _

_But most of all I hate _

_Oh, I hate you_

Cristina hated having interns for many reasons but one of the most important reasons being that she hated trying to remember their names. Numbers, she realized, seem to work much easier.

"One and Two, you're in the pit today. Don't whine or I'll make it worse." She warned. "Four you're in the clinic."

"What about me?" Lexie Grey asked, not at all surprised that once again Cristina seemed to ignore her.

"What about you?" Cristina asked, quite annoyed. "Whatever, Dr. Shepherd has requested you today. Try not to kill anybody."

With that her interns were off and Cristina was left to scavenge for a great surgery. The problem, it seemed, was that there didn't appear to be anything more serious then a broken leg or too. What she could really go for, she decided, was a total evisceration. The stupid people that tended to get those kinds of massive injuries seemed to have stayed inside today, and so Cristina was left with nothing. Rather then waste her time and skills on a patient with the sniffles, she found the nearest office and settled down to do paperwork.

About an hour into working the door of the office banged open and Meredith flopped down onto the chair next to Cristina.

"I just ran a test for HIV on two little girls."

"So? Lots of teenagers have sex and think they're super heroes so they don't wrap it up." Cristina said without looking up.

"These weren't teenagers. The one girl is eleven and the other is ten."

This caught Cristina's attention for a moment and she looked up. "Seriously?"

"Yeah." Meredith sighed. "Is it bad that I'm obsessing about my boy drama while these little girls are worried they have HIV?"

"Yes." Cristina told her and then went back to her paperwork.

"How do you tell a parent their ten-year-old got HIV from having unprotected sex?" Meredith wondered out loud. "Better yet, how do you explain that their ten-year-old had sex to begin with?"

Realizing that Meredith didn't notice she was working, Cristina put down her pen. "What's the big deal? Yeah it might suck, but it's not the end of the world. They take the pills and they live a long life. It's not the death sentence it used to be."

"I know all that. But it's just the point that they're not even teenagers. When I was ten I didn't even know what sex was, I was still playing with Barbie's."

"When I was ten I was smart enough to realize Barbie is evil."

"Cristina." Meredith looked at her. "Seriously?"

"Ask my mother."

There was a moment of silence before Meredith looked at her watch. "Well, it's been about ten minutes. The quick results should be done."

Meredith left Cristina with her mountain of paperwork and walked back to the clinic. She grabbed the results of the tests, glanced at them quickly, and then entered the room where the two girls sat.

"Before I tell you girls the results of these tests I just want to make something clear. You are too young to be having sex. You're too young to even be thinking about having sex. Just because a boy says he loves you, or you think everybody else is doing it, or because you think that it'll make you a grown up; those are all excuses."

"Please, that's so lame." The older girl, Brittany, told her. "It's just sex, what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that you're in here getting tested for HIV. I'm not going to lecture you anymore about not having sex because you girls clearly don't get it. But I am going to lecture you about having the sense to be smart and safe about it."

Brittany rolled her eyes and Meredith knew that whatever she said wasn't going to affect her one bit. The other girl, however, Meredith thought maybe she could get her point across.

"Ok," she told Brittany. "You need to leave while I tell Danielle the results."

"What, why?" Brittany argued.

"Because, there are things called HIPPA laws and because this is confidential nobody but Danielle and I can be in here."

Up until that moment Danielle had seemed content to let Brittany do the talking; now she looked at her friend. "It's ok; I'll meet you outside in a minute."

After Brittany had left the room Meredith grabbed a stool and rolled it over next to Danielle. She sat there quietly for a few minutes. When it became clear that Danielle wasn't going to offer any more information Meredith explained that while the results of the test were negative she would need to come back in three to six months to get re-tested. She went through the same spiel with Brittany and then watched as the two girls left the clinic; she knew damn well that, while they might not have any diseases currently, it was only a matter of time for them.

"So that sucked, right?" Lexie asked as Meredith finished jotting down some notes. Once Meredith was done writing she gave Lexie a withering stare.

"I am so not in the mood for you today." She informed her and then walked away.

As Lexie watched her walk away she resisted the urge to cry. Why the hell did Meredith have to be such a bitch? God, all she wanted to do was be her friend! Out of the corner of her eye she saw George approaching the desk and turned to him.

"What the hell is the matter with your friend?" She lashed out. "Why can't you and you're stupid friends accept new people? What the hell is up with this hospital?"

George frowned. "I accepted you, what are you talking about?"

"Meredith and her little side-kick Cristina. They're so infuriating."

"You've just got to give Meredith time. She hasn't had the easiest time lately. As for Cristina, you need to stand up to her."

"I've tried, it doesn't work." Lexie banged her head lightly against the desk. "What are you doing down here?"

"Oh, Cristina was trying to page you." George told her.

Lexie looked down at her pager and swore. Of course her pager would die while Cristina was trying to page her. Lexie's life wouldn't be the same if things were to go easy for her.

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­­­­Meredith's day was finally over. All she wanted to do at this point was go home, grab the bottle of Jose, and thank God that she didn't run in to Derek. Or Rose, for the matter, as she wasn't sure she couldn't stand the site of that doe-eyed skank without projectile vomiting.

She was almost home free; all she had to do was take the elevator down to the ground floor. So of course, when the door opened and Derek was standing inside, it came as no surprise to Meredith; after all, the day hadn't sucked enough. Meredith stepped into the elevator and tried to keep from laughing but it was just so ridiculous.

Derek, thinking Meredith was in a good mood, looked at her and asked, "What's so funny?"

Immediately Meredith stopped laughing and glanced at him. "This is not happening."

"What's not?" Derek inquired.

"This, you and I are not talking." Meredith informed him.

Derek cocked his head to one side. "Why not? We can't be civil?"

"No, we can't. I loved you and you said you loved me but then you go around kissing nurses."

"Meredith-" Derek tried to interrupt but was cut off.

"Next time I'll take the stairs." Meredith finished and like a movie the elevator doors magically opened and she was able to make a grand exit. Now, however, instead of going home she headed straight for Joe's. Joe's bottle of tequila was a lot closer then hers was, and that was the main goal right now. She hoped that if she could drink enough the memory of Derek would fade away.

The next morning, however, when Meredith woke up the memories of Derek were still there. What was missing, though, was her memory from last night and apparently all of her clothes. The sound of snoring startled her and she quickly turned over to see who the hell she'd brought home.

One look at the man and Meredith knew she'd just complicated things beyond the current level. She groaned and muttered, but she knew that what pissed her off the most was that the only person she could hate right now, besides Jose, was herself…

_I bet you think I'm kidding_

_But I promise you it's true_

_I hate most everybody _

_But most of all I hate _

_Oh, I hate you_


	3. Chapter 3

**Take Me Away**

Disclaimer: As always, I'm not making any money off of this and Shonda Rhimes owns it all. But wouldn't it be nice if she did share?

Authors Notes: Thanks so much for the great reviews, I'm glad you guys like the story! I'll do my best to update as often as possible, and I'm finishing up this semester in school so soon I'll have nothing to do but write. I forgot to mention that the lyrics from Chapter 2 belong to Get Set Go "I Hate Everyone". Keep leaving the great reviews and thanks again! ­­

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_Last night at Joe's…_

The bar was filled to the point of bursting when Meredith got there. As she looked around she saw many familiar faces from the hospital staff, but she was also pleased to see many guys who didn't appear to be the doctor type. And that was exactly what she was looking for tonight. No vets, no brain surgeons, nobody with a PhD of any kind was what Meredith was in need of.

She sat down at the bar and Joe set the usual shot of tequila in front of her. She downed it quickly and Joe brought out another glass.

"Might as well leave the bottle, Joe." She told him and was happy when he didn't protest. Of course she was well aware of what a picture she made, sitting alone at the bar with her own full bottle of tequila in front of her; but really, she didn't give a damn.

One guy came up to her, offering to buy a drink, but after a few minutes of conversations he informed her that he'd seen her around the hospital as he was a nurse at Seattle Grace. She wrinkled her nose and frowned then politely informed in no uncertain terms that all nurses sucked.

"So what's your problem now?" Alex Karev asked, sitting down next to Meredith.

"Same shit, different day." She replied.

Alex nodded in confirmation and then took a swig of the beer Joe had set in front of him. "Well you're mood sucks, as usual. I'd love to sit here and be moody with you, but I'm here to get laid and clearly you're not in the mood."

"Not with you, anyway." She countered good naturedly. As Meredith watched Alex move on she had a fleeting though of sleeping with him. After all, what was the big deal? At least with Alex she was sure there wouldn't be any attached strings. And apparently he was pretty good in bed since he's slept with everyone from Olivia to Izzie, hell he ever slept with Addison. She took another shot of tequila and contemplated it some more when she was saved from herself by Mark Sloan.

Mark Sloan was the kind of guy that girls hooked up with when they weren't sure what was going on. Addison had turned to him when her marriage was crumbling. Callie had slept with him after George dumped her. Like Derek's sister Nancy said, "It's Mark Sloan, who has gone there at least once?"

Mark, however, was tired of being the sole member of the Dirty Mistresses Club. The problem was that he was stuck between having one night stands and being in a committed relationship. He rationalized it was because he couldn't find any woman he wanted to commit too; deep down, however, he knew that that wasn't the case. All along there had always been one woman he wanted to commit too, but being that she was Derek's had put a damper on that.

"That's a great way to get him back." Mark said with an air of sarcasm and a raised eyebrow.

"I don't want him back." Meredith informed him.

"Really? Because I think that you if didn't want him back you wouldn't be drinking like that."

"Well, maybe you just shouldn't think at all." Meredith said testily.

"Ouch. If I had a heart that might have hurt." Mark ordered a drink and waited while Joe grabbed the bottle. When Joe came back he told him, "You might want to take that bottle away."

Mark vanished into the crowd and Meredith was left by herself. Initially it had been her plan to get drunk and find some guy to take home. Now, however, she was rethinking the latter part of that equation. Maybe, she thought, I should just stick to the alcohol. About twenty minutes passed and during that time Meredith continued in her quest to empty to bottle of tequila. In her quest to be blissfully drunk she also had time to get more annoyed with Mark Sloan.

Who the hell did he think he was? Telling her that she wanted Derek back and then making comments about her drinking style? He was a man-whore for Christ's sake, so where did he get off being all righteous? She used to think Mark was cool and slightly sexy in a dirty way. But then he opened his mouth, words came out, and all the things Meredith imagined him to be disappeared.

Finally Meredith decided she'd had enough of everything and slid off the bar stool with a lack of grace. Keys in hand and dizzy from the alcohol, she stumbled to the door. There was a split second where she wondered if maybe she shouldn't drive, then dismissed the notion. Tempting fate, after all, seemed to work out for her. Hell, she'd drowned and had been clinically dead for an incomprehensible amount of time and yet she was still standing here today.

She almost made it to her car when she noticed a dark figure standing against it. She thought for a moment, trying to decide if the figure was an ax murder, robber, or a mysterious guardian angel. She figured the latter was highly unlikely.

She made it to the car and in the dim glow from the half-burnt out streetlight she could discern the face of the person.

"You're not driving like that." He told her firmly.

"Whatever just take me home then. I'm too tired to argue with you." She said and got in the car.

* * *

_The next morning…_

Meredith lay on her side, her head feeling like it was full of wet sand, and debated for the second morning in a row if she should call in sick. It wasn't until she heard snoring that she realized somebody else was in her bed. She quickly turned over to see who it was and was disgusted by what she saw. And then it dawned on her that something was missing…like her clothes. All of them…just gone…or apparently, she realized as she looked around the room, strewn haphazardly every where.

Quietly, so as not to disturb her guest, she slid out of bed and tip-toed into the bathroom. As smoothly and quietly as she could she closed the door and then sat down on the cool bathroom tiles. Her life, she decided, was unreal. There was more drama in her life than there was on a primetime soap opera. Her head in her hands, Meredith tried to figure out what the hell she was going to do now. The best case scenario is that nobody would ever find out, but Seattle Grace seemed to have a way of knowing everything at first glance, and so she guessed that wasn't much of an option at all.

What Meredith needed was her phone because Cristina, sober and not hung-over Cristina, would know what to do. Meredith weighed her options, the first being to sit in the bathroom and hide and have no help at all, and the second option in which she snuck out quietly and grabbed the fun and then hauled ass back into the safety of the bathroom. Option number seemed marginally better.

She started to open the door and a loud squeak broke the tense silence. She glanced at him and just about screamed when his eyes opened.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Um-" She floundered. "I just need a phone."

"In the bathroom?"

"Yes." Meredith said as if he was the crazy one and not her.

"Wake me when it's time to go to work." He told her and then rolled over on his side, pretending to be asleep.

Meredith dashed from the bathroom to the phone and then back again. As soon as she closed the door she dialed Cristina's number only to be disappointed when there was no answer. Of course Cristina had decided to go in early this morning and get all the good cases, that wasn't surprising.

But now Meredith was left to figure out what to do about the guy in her bed. And then it dawned on her, how were they going to leave the house without being caught? Meredith banged her head on the wall and decided that the bathroom wasn't such a bad place to spend the rest of her miserable life.

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Authors Notes: Oh my gosh, I would be banging me head against a wall by now! I mean, who the hell is she in bed with? Will we ever find out?...There are so many options, hell she could be in bed with Walter for all we know. That would really complicate things, wouldn't it? Drama, drama, drama! Thanks for all the great reviews and stay tuned..._maybe _the next Chapter will reveal the mysterious stranger.


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